


blood brothers in desperation

by banorawhites



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Daemons, Post-Canon, happy last paragraph though, off-screen events made on-screen, the end of the game but i decided to make it sadder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 22:16:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banorawhites/pseuds/banorawhites
Summary: Noctis knows he has a destiny and must fulfil it one way or another.





	blood brothers in desperation

“Still sleeping, Noct?” Ignis asked. A low groan came from the back of the tent.

“Just like your old self” Prompto laughed quietly. 

“Don’t think I’ll ever get used to it being so dark. My body’s constantly ready for me to go to sleep now.” Noctis rubbed his eyes, hand catching on the coarse stubble when he moved it down. He still wasn’t used to that.

“The people have missed you, Noct. They’ve been up in arms about getting you back.” Gladio said as he unzipped the tent and stepped out into what would have been the morning air.

“Do they care about their prince or do they care about going back to their usual lives?” Noctis asked, then paused. “What does it matter, anyway?” he continued “Even if I’m not doing it for them, I’m doing it for you guys. I’d give you guys the world on a platter if I could. I’m gonna get it back for you, I promise.” 

Ignis smiled and rubbed his eyes, the red and brown scar still painfully prominent “You never lost your talent of oration, I see.”

“Comes in handy when you’ve got to address a kingdom.” Noctis smiled back at him, meeting his eyes behind the dark glasses. He’d simultaneously changed so much and so little, Noctis might well have spent the past ten years alongside him.

Prompto stretched his arms above his head, arching his back “You up for a fight, then?”

Noctis laughed “I can barely avoid them.” 

“Well, we best get moving if we want to get to Insomnia soon. Ten years… it’ll be so strange seeing it after all that time.” Gladiolus had already started packing up everything they’d left outside, clearly ready to get moving.

“Well, it’s now or never” Noct murmured and stood up. It was this or wasting away in a half-living version of the world he once loved. He preferred the former.

* * *

The fire roared overhead, and Prompto did his best to cover the three men, wanting to bear the brunt of the searing air around them. He could feel Gladio’s arm over his back, Noctis’s elbow digging into his thigh and Ignis’ head pressed against his chest. In his entire life, he’d never expected to have to fight a god before, but here he was.

* * *

Ignis dealt with his loss of sight for many years, but hearing the gasps of the others as Noctis called upon Bahamut for aid was crushing- he’d never be able to see them again. He pressed a hand over his heart and gripped tightly, head tilted towards the floor. He couldn’t remember what the castle looked like anymore. Previously, he could have drawn it from memory. In the ten years, Noct was in the crystal, he was losing the image of what he looked like. It wasn’t as bad with Gladio and Prompto, whenever they spoke a picture of them was called to his mind’s eye, but in his memories, he could barely see Noctis’ face anymore. And now Noctis was leaving them again, to take on Ardyn on his own. In the distance, he heard a loud thundering and the crack of the throne room door being thrown open. Daemons. Ignis readied his daggers, and he heard the now-familiar sound of the others readying their weapons.

* * *

Gladiolus spun around, hearing Prompto cry out. With no more potions or even phoenix down, the last one having been used what seemed like mere seconds ago, he had to leave Prompto with Ignis, both bleeding on the floor, limbs torn apart, bodies draining blood. Ignis had been first to fall, the battlefield too loud for him to hear the Mindflayer approaching from behind. Prompto had been distraught at seeing his friend fall and had thrown himself directly into battle only to be thrown back against the wall with a nauseating crunch. There was no way Gladio could finish this on his own. He just had to keep them off Noct for as long as he could, letting Noct finally confront Ardyn. He knew he was getting weaker, he could tell he wasn’t hitting as hard or focusing as much, and with one well-placed swipe fell to the floor, hearing his leg shatter underneath him. He could only lie in place, desperately crawling towards Ignis and Prompto before an Iron Giant’s sword impaled his torso, sending blood gushing up his throat and out onto the floor. 

* * *

Noctis had known what he had to do from the very start. As Ardyn lay on the ground, fatally wounded but not yet dead, he knew there was a sacrifice to be made. It tore his heart in two to give up the world and everything, everyone he loved in it, but it hurt him more to know that no one would ever live in the world he loved again unless he did this. Prompto would never take any photographs in gorgeous orange and red sunset light, Ignis would never get to taste or cook the foods that he loved with the fruits that no longer grew, Gladio would never be able to spend time outdoors without fending off a daemon at every turn. He was doing this for them, for the hope that they’d be able to enjoy this earth again.

Noctis nearly broke down when he saw the throne room. Empty, apart from the three bodies of his lifelong friends. He steeled himself and knelt before each of them in turn, praying for each of them to find a place in the afterlife. As he walked to the throne in front of him, his destiny became a little bit clearer. He had nothing left for him on this earth- his family, loved ones and his best friends. Seeing the Astrals appear in front of him was breathtaking. He felt each weapon impale him but didn’t flinch. Things were going to get better, they were. The world was going to be purged of daemons, the sun was going to rise, his people could live again. He shut his eyes and thought of home. Not the castle, the Regalia, with Gladio next to him, Prompto climbing on his seat to show him something on his phone, and Ignis berating them for not sitting safely. There was nowhere he’d rather be.

* * *

He could see himself. More accurately, his body, as the ring disintegrated and fell to the floor as dust, to be blown away by a light breeze. Such a simple fate for an item that had wounded and killed far too many men. Then it changed. A car, a black car, the Regalia. The picture cleared slowly as if Noctis’ eyes were being wiped clean like a camera lens. The orange and yellows of the desert. Three figures outside, with one in the car.

“Not exactly a fairy-tale beginning, huh Prince Noctis?”

That was Gladio’s voice! Noctis tried to call out to him, but his voice made no sound. Gladio didn’t notice and continued pushing the car, not aware of the man calling out to him.

“We let ourselves get carried away,” Ignis replied, sitting in the driver's seat.

This was ten years ago when their journey had started. When he was together with his friends, when his Dad and Luna were still alive, back when everything was alright. He looked around and didn’t see anything, but he felt it. He could feel Gladio’s hand on his torso, adjusting his fighting stance, Prompto’s hugs, Ignis sorting out his messy hair. He could feel Luna reaching for his hand and Regis’ warm smile. 

He turned, and he could see Ardyn dressed in white, a far cry from the black and weighty clothes he wore before. Ardyn smiled and soon disappeared just as the ring had done. Noct turned back to the car and looked at the four men with it. Maybe this time they'd get a proper road trip.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the ending five times, some honourable mentions are  
-Noctis reunited with Ignis after death, who can see again  
-Everyone survives somehow  
-Noctis is alive, but everyone else has died.


End file.
